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December Artist Spotlight – Ottrina Bond

“As soon as I heard the first song submitted by this artist, I knew she’d be a great fit in our mission in showcasing quality artists. Ottrina’s unique music style and content provides hope, inspiration, and comfort in melodic tones and soulful vocals.”

Seemingly prophetic and from her newly released EP album, “Ottrina Bond-The EP”, Ottrina is already set to fulfill the words of the title track as she ‘sets the World On Fire’ with noted comparable vocal nuances of power singers such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and even Aretha Franklin. The video for the song has over 70,000 views on Youtube, proving that it is merely a matter of time before the world knows who the singer is. Ottrina delivers the acoustical emotionalism of a singer/songwriter similar to John Legend and Adele, featuring deep and meaningful lyricism coupled with both moving and memorable melodies like that of “World On Fire,” a soulful, R&B love ballad. The singer is quick to warn listeners however, that even with the epic nature of ballad’s refrain, this sound is just one facet of her style which also includes refreshingly youthful freedom of expression and individuality similar to artists such as Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne. “I consider myself a ‘genre-blender’ that positions me as a Pop singer, with my voice and conviction being that ‘fiery’ thread element that makes it an ‘Ottrina’ song.”

Music was the inevitable path for Ottrina Bond growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As head of security for local radio station WDAS, Ottrina’s grandfather played a major role in the musical influences that color the background of the singer/songwriter. The detective’s employment at the radio station came with benefits of special releases and signed copies of albums that are now the pride of the singer’s music collection. With sounds of legends such as D-Train and Earth, Wind, and Fire, played by her mother during the home chores; the soulful spirituals of Aretha Franklin and James Cleveland by her grandmother, and even Tchaikovsky and Mahler played by her grandfather to a muted tv of Sunday football, Ottrina was bound to develop a richly diverse palate for music.

Having cousins as members of the 1970′s R&B sensation ‘The Stylistics’, and an aspiring singer as next door neighbor also didn’t hurt. It was this neighbor that helped coach the singer to her first solo stage performance at the age of 6. “I was always a day dreamer and a bit of a ‘slow-poke’, which would get me in trouble at times. One day, due to my whimsical behavior I had to miss recess and remain in class to complete classroom work with my teacher. I learned that she was preparing for the school talent show for the upper grades and informed her that I was a singer. Despite it being short of notice I asked if I could participate and told my mother, that I had to do this.”

This was just the beginning of days that the singer would steal away to write or sing. “While my friends were outside playing, I was inside practicing breath control and how to hold a mic.” Ottrina was the youngest to take the stage that day, singing ‘If Only You Knew’ by Patti Labelle in a performance that her sister still describes as a scene she’d like revisited when her life flashes before her.

Ottrina would go on to spend her teen years singing in church and community choirs before deciding to take a more aggressive professional approach at the admonition of others. “During my last year of college, my passion for music underwent a resurgence and I began to accept that this was not merely a desire but my destiny.” Being a bit shy, the singer began to perform background vocal projects and take roles in plays. “A lot of what I did was reflective of my musical upbringing, as I was singing contemporary Gospel as a background singer, while also performing Rachmananov with the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, and performing pop songs by Whitney Houston in a stage play.” Added to this diversity was her full-time career as a research scientist, which the singer tried very long to keep separate and private. However the demands of the two different worlds could not be maintained for long. “I wanted the respect of my colleagues and felt that intermingling my music would make it harder for me to be taken seriously. At the same time, it was a challenge to then unleash the bridled artist inside after hiding it under a pressed shirt and lab coat all day. Eventually they would tease me and call me the ‘singing scientist”. Ultimately the singer felt it was time to make a choice and decided to leave science to work on her music full-time.

Now proudly residing in Miami, Ottrina has shared the stage with local artists and bands at festivals and events throughout Miami and West Palm Beach, performing at venues such as the Van Dyke Miami Beach, Seminole Casino and recently the AMA Big Kahuna Premier Pro Racing Event at the Miami-Homestead Speedway.